In the field of welding, various techniques are typically employed to form a desired metal object. In addition to welding techniques, various sculpting methods have been proposed in the past, including means for sculpting in metal. Forming a hollow metallic sculpture has been accomplished by creating a destructible core which is surrounded by metallic material following the lines or contours of the core, and thereafter melting, burning or otherwise destroying the core to leave only the remaining hollow metallic sculpture. Another method of forming a metallic sculpture is to first sculpt a core from meltable or otherwise destroyable material in a desired artistically pleasing shape, and then to apply pin-like elements, including nails, to the surface of the core, having large flattened heads flush with the core surface and at some locations, with one another. Thereafter, a brazing rod is applied to the heads of the nails, using conventional welding methods, forming a metallic sheath the conforms to the surface of the sculpted core and which is formed throughout with irregularly shaped opening occurring between the heads of the pin elements. The core is then burned out or otherwise destroyed without affecting the metallic sheath, leaving the hollow metallic sheath as the end sculpture. However, the present method of making a metal art object is a novel method utilizing a base having a height-adjustable clamp which suspends a selected strip of metal, either stainless steel or galvanized steel, over a smooth metal platform and a MIG welder utilizing 140 amps and 110 volts. A wire is fed through the MIG welder tip. The wire is 0.030 inches in diameter. The combination of a stainless steel strip and a stainless steel wire results in a primarily gold sheen of an end puddle, while the combination of a stainless steel strip and a steel wire results in a primarily blue sheen. The combination of a galvanized steel strip and a steel wire results in a center gold dot in the end puddle. The user steadily holds the tip at a 90-degree angle over the distal end of the steel strip, which is farthest away from the base, to melt the distal end, forming a weld puddle. The weld puddle becomes heavy as the strip is heated and drops, thus the distal end drips and falls onto a platform to form an end puddle. A plurality of end puddles may be formed using the foregoing method and each puddle is unique. The size of each puddles varies according to the amount of the strip melted and the height to which the clamp is adjusted. The melting of a larger amount of steel strip results in a larger puddle and a higher clamp adjustment results in a larger puddle.
The platform must be maintained in a smooth and clean condition. A radius grinder may be used to keep the platform completely smooth. Light sandpaper may be used to keep the platform clean. The platform may be tilted to form a feathered perimeter on the end puddle. After several of the puddles have been formed, a user may use the puddles, welding them or otherwise connecting them together to form a plethora of metallic art objects, including wall hangings, flower arrangements, candelabras, sculptures and the like. The puddles may be used randomly to create free-form art objects. Further, the puddles may also be selected for similar qualities to form recognizable objects. For instance, puddles which have vertical lines and feathered edges may be used to form a peacock metallic sculpture. Wire or other sculptured pieces may be used to connect the puddles to form the various sculptures. Another example of use is in a flower arrangement wherein the puddles are used to represent a blossom and metal wire is used to represented stems.